Who cares about his apologies? I don't. I think they're fake, and they're pointless, and I do not understand this recent phenomenon of prolonged publicity for racist fucks. And homophobic fucks (God, it pains me to say that, because I find Isaiah Washington so very very attractive).

In Comparative Law last fall, I learned about other cultures' use of an "apology" as a form of justice for a victim of a crime. I didn't understand it, really. What good does an apology do? If I've got a tort-like issue -- say someone drives into one of my girls as they're walking home from school, and they sustain injuries which result in large medical bills (but they're okay, after surgery, some physical therapy, and so forth). My insurance won't cover everything, and I'm stuck with $100,000 in medical bills. I am forced to bring a litigation to get the costs covered. I go to trial. I win at trial. The judgment is: the driver of the car must say they're sorry.

Huh?

I understand that the apology is a stronger force in a culture where people are more prideful, and honor is more valuable than money.

As a member of this society --- I don't get it.

I wonder if that's what's happening with these racists, though? They're trying to use the apology as a powerful tool, as if we were in China or Vietnam.

You know what? I still don't think it works here. Imus has no honor. What does he lose by apologizing? Nothing. He was still doing a show this morning, laughing it up over this situation. He's spent as much time justifying his actions as he has apologizing for them.

The truth is - these people are racist fucks. These words came out of their mouth as an expression of what they think, and what they believe. These people think it is okay to talk in a hateful, derogatory way about other people. Saying sorry to the leaders of the offended community does not, cannot, and will not take that away.

And in the meantime, can we please, as a nation, figure out what the hell is wrong with us that we can still have these sentiments floating around out there in an obviously pervasive manner? This is disgusting. Why did Imus say this nasty stuff in the first place? Because it's seen as acceptable humor! I don't know the people who feel that it is acceptable, but obviously, they're out there. Michael Richards, Imus, Isaiah-Beautiful Washington, and Mel-Religous-Freak Gibson are a part of their society. They aren't a few "bad apples" - they're a symptom of a larger festering problem.

we had our last real chance to address racism back in the 60's with the civil rights movement and in the end all the racists got smarter about how to go about being racist. that few have been able to step into the void of MLK and make impassioned pleas that don't smack of media posturing (even if sincere) because the racists figured out how to frame the debate.

there was a saying brewing in the 80's when the reagan administration began their new right-wing assaults against "welfare mothers" and "the war on drugs" as cover for their racist policies: where's the outrage? look at the slanting of media, especially by fox "news", and you will see prime examples daily of framing the issues around the racism of the right. immigration and the administration's attack on undocumented workers (the non-slanted term for what are often referred to derogitorily as "illegals") is a prime example.

the people who control the language of the debate control the debate. the people who control the debate determine what is acceptable. the debate over racism in this country has stalled out and moved backward in the last 25+ years, allowing for an "acceptable" level of racism in the public eye as witnessed by the stellar figures mentioned in your post. and you have to ask yourself: who stands to gain?

the answer: racists of all stripes, but especially those in the current administration who have seeded the fields of the debate with hateful rhetoric and carefully worded language that fosters this very racism.

it's simplistic to say this, but deep down i believe there's more than a kernel of truth to it: the civil war divided this country and we have never healed that wound. racism existed long before that but the festering brand of racism that grew from the resentment of that battle is what we're looking at now.

solutions? let's see... we took a country that has been sitting on three divisions of tribal and religious hatred and decided what they needed was to be liberated and occupied with an army to unify them. so, as with iraq, let's let a foreign army take over our country (a coalition of canada, mexico and germany would do) and show us how it's done.

It's interesting, my Professor Louis "Mike" Seidman wrote either a book or an article on that point exactly - that our justice system rewards false apologies. I'll try and find it for you, you may like it. He's an interesting guy.